In the past, three types of systems have been used to moor boats. One common mooring system comprises floating docks that are held in place by anchors and/or piles. A boat is moored by tying the length of the boat alongside a section of the floating docks. There are, however, several problems associated with floating dock mooring systems. First, floating docks are generally sensitive to waves and over time tend to warp and break apart from continuous exposure to waves, particularly if the docks are made of wood. Floating docks can also be damaged by minor collisions with boats, and, in sub-freezing climates, floating docks can be damaged when the water surface freezes over. Furthermore, such docks are generally large structures so that it is difficult to install and remove the docks. If the docks are held in place with piles driven into the bottom (sea bed), the configuration of the docks is normally difficult to change without altering the piling configuration. Furthermore, floating dock mooring systems are relatively expensive and can be unsightly in appearance.
Another common mooring system consists of individual mooring buoys, held in place by anchors and anchor lines. A boat may be tied at its bow to a single buoy, or its bow may be tied to one buoy and its stern tied to a second buoy that is spaced apart from the first. While mooring systems using buoys overcome many of the problems of floating dock systems, the use of mooring buoys has other drawbacks. If the configuration employing a single buoy per boat is used, the boat will swing freely around the buoy unless the stern of the boat is anchored with an onboard anchor, which is generally time consuming to drop and properly set. Whether the stern of the boat is allowed to swing about or is secured by dropping an anchor, the position of the boat with respect to the buoy is unpredictable, i.e., the boat can be positioned radially anywhere around the buoy. As a result, such mooring buoys must be separated from other buoys by a significant distance so that moored boats will not collide. Accordingly, the maximum safe mooring density for such a configuration is relatively low. A similar problem exists with respect to a bow and stern buoy configuration because the buoys must be spaced apart sufficiently to accommodate a maximum acceptable boat length.
A third system for mooring boats simply relies on boats dropping and setting onboard bow and/or stern anchors. The problem with the self-anchored mooring system is that the positioning of boats is not controlled and the maximum achievable safe mooring density is very low. Furthermore, it is omen inconvenient and time consuming for boats to moor by dropping onboard anchors.
What is needed is a high density mooring system that: can withstand collisions with boats, continuous wave disturbances, and ice; and, can accommodate boats of widely varying lengths; is low in cost; is not unsightly; and is easily installed, reconfigured, and removed. As described more fully below, the present invention provides a mooring system that meets these criteria and overcomes the aforementioned problems in the prior art.